A FIGHT to see off plans for a potentially harmful compost site just four miles from Hinckley has been reignited after the applicant returned with a third set of plans.

The proposals for an open windrow composting plant in Fenn Lane, Fenny Drayton, have already been rejected twice by county council chiefs and once by the Planning Inspectorate in the last two years.

But despite the constant opposition to the plans from thousands of residents, a third application has now been put forward for a building more than 2,000sq metres in size which would receive as much as 10,000 tonnes of garden waste and wood waste a year.

The open windrow system involves laying out long rows of compost which experts claim can lead to complaints of smells from as far as five miles away. The method is also said to release Aspergillus Fumigatus, which is a fungus that can cause serious respiratory damage.

Michael Mullaney, Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesman for Hinckley and Bosworth, has launched a petition against the plans.

He said: “Residents are angry that after these plans have been turned down twice, another attempt is being made to put a compost site near Fenny Drayton.

“The compost site would put extra lorries on overstretched roads and there are still concerns about the smells and health hazards that could be caused by the site.”

Bosworth MP, David Tredinnick, has campaigned alongside residents from the start and is ready to do so again.

He said: “I still oppose the plans as this is not the best site for it. Also with the bigger MIRA changes going on, it does not help to have this issue coming back again.

“I am not in favour it and have been driving this for a long time and we have been successful so far.”

Anyone wanting to sign the petition against the plans can visit www.bosworthlibdems.org.uk